Wire bed-bottom



" No Model.) 2. Sheets-Sheet 1..

J. R. LARI-EW.

WIRE BED BOTTOM. No. 543,994. Patented Aug. 6, 1895.

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J. R. LARIEW. WIRE BED BOTTOM.

Patented Aug. 6, 1895.

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UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN R. LARIEW, OF ELMIRA, NEW YORK.

WIRE BED-BOTTOM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 543,994, dated August 6, 1895.

Application filed Marci 9, 1894. Serial No. 503,037. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN R. LARIEW, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elmira, in the county of Chemung and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Wire BedBottom, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to spring bed-bottoms; and it has for its object to providea bed-bottom suitable for beds which is constructed entirelyof wire,inclnding the springs and frame, in contradistinction to those bed bottoms which have a wholly or partly wooden frame or a frame including bars or bands of metal.

It is my object to provide a bed-bottom of minimum weight with the requisite strength, elasticity, and durability, and also to provide such a construction as to avoid crevices and joints for harboring vermin.

In order to combine lightness and strength I have found it desirable to employ a frame constructed solely of intersecting longitudinal and transverse wires of the same gage, a spring being seated upon each point of intersection and forming the look by which the intersecting wires are secured together. In order to give a construction of this kind the requisite resisting power without using a surrounding wooden frame it is necessary to provide means for preventing the displacement of the outside springs, or those which are located at the exterior points of intersection of the frame-wires.

It is obvious that abed-bottom must be constructed so as to be removable from a bedstead in connection with which it is used, and it is in order togive the necessary stiffness to enable this object to be accomplished that a stiff frame is employed in the ordinary construction. Hence, as it is my object to reduce the weight and avoid the joints incident to a frame of the ordinary construction, I employ means exterior to the outside points of intersection of the frame-wires to prevent inward displacement or distortion of the exterior springs. Such means consist of resilient braces arranged in inclined positions and secured at their lower extremities to extensions of the frame wires, whereby an outward strain is exerted upon each exterior spring of the bed-bottom.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a bed-bottom constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the same on the line :r w of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view in perspective of one of theframe-wire intersections, the spring seated upon the intersection, together with the contiguous resilient braces and bridging springs or coils, the construction illustrated being located at one corner of the bed-bottom. Fig. 4 is a detail section of the intersection of one of the frame-wire intersections with the lowermost or base coil of the spring seated at this point.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The frame of the improved bed-bottom is constructed solely of intersecting longitudinal wires A and transverse wires B, said wires being of the same gage,,and supported by this frame are the spaced spiral or convolute springs C, the interlocking connection of the base-coils of said springs with the contiguous portions of the intersecting frame-wires forming the sole connection between said wires and between the'springs and the frame.

In order to provide a suitable seat upon the frame-wires for the base-coils of the springs, the longitudinal frame-wires are provided at the points of intersection with upward bends D, and the transverse frame-wires are provided at corresponding points with depressed bends F. Upon each side of the depressed bend in a transverseframe-wire is arranged an upward bend E. The lowermost or base coil of a spring is passed through or under the upward bends E of the transverse bars and over the longitudinal wire upon opposite sides of its upward bend D, the extremity of said base-coil being hooked and thereby engaged with the longitudinal wire at one side of the bend D. This manner of seating the coils upon the frame not only forms a suitable connection between the members of the frame and between the spring and the frame, but the connection or interlocking of the spring with the frame may be accomplished after the complete formation of each part or member of the bed-bottom. In other words, the longitudinal and transverse frame-wires may be constructed and crimped as articles of manufacture, and the springs may be similarly completed, after which the bed-bottom may be set up, or the parts thereof may be assembled, at any time prior to use and by an unskilled workman. In the same way the bed-bottom may be taken apart or knocked down, if desired, to facilitate storing or transportation.

The longitudinal and transverse framewires are extended beyond the outermost points of intersection thereof, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 3, to provide frame-wire extensions which terminate, in the construction illustrated, in eyes G, and extending from these extremities of the frame-wire extensions are resilient braces l-I, consisting preferably of helical springs. The upper extremity of each of these resilient braces is attached to one of the upper coils of a spring, and inasmuch as the frame-wire extensions project beyond the points of intersection of said wires, these braces are inclined inward toward their upper ends, and hence exert an outward and downward draft upon the upper portions of the springs, to prevent deflection inwardly of the tops of the springs.

In order to prevent outward deflection of the tops of the springs, I employ the usual intersecting bridge coils or springs I and J, the coils or springs I being arranged parallel with the frame-wires between the contiguous outer springs C, and the coils or springs K being arranged in diagonal intersecting positions to connect the intermediate springs and brace the same diagonally or radially in a plurality of directions.

From the above description it will be seen that the entire bed-bottom is constructed of wire, with the parts so connected as to facilitate the assembling thereof and maintain the springs in operative position without depending upon the form of. bedstead inwhich the device is arranged, and it is obvious,furtl1ermore, that a broken spring or frame-wire may be replaced with facility and at a nominal expense.

Having described my invention, what I claim is A bed bottom having a frame constructed entirely of intersecting longitudinal and transverse frame-Wires of the same gage and extending beyond the outermost points of intersection to form frame-Wire extensions, spiral springs seated, respectively, at the intersection of the frame-wires and having an interlocking connection therewith to connect the frame-wires and secure the spiral springs in place, said frame-Wires being provided contiguous to their points of intersection with bonds to prevent independent lateral movement of either wire, bridging springs connecting the spiral springs at their tops to prevent lateral deflection, and resilient braces consisting of helical springs secured at their lower extremities to the outer ends of the frame-wire extensions and at their upper extremities to the upper coils of the spiral springs, said braces inclining inward toward their upper ends whereby they exert a lateral outward strain upon the tops of the outermost spiral springs, to prevent inward deflection thereof, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aiiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

J. R. LARIEW. Witnesses:

L. A. BAKER, L. E. BIsHoP. 

